Too much stuff

I read this item from Cranky Buddhist this morning.

"Currently I am slowly moving things out of storage, organizing, examining, giving things away...

"I’m trying to get myself down to one room and my kitchen stuff. I don’t know if this is about lightening up, growing up, or moving up (creating space for new and better things to come into my life). In any case, I am waking up and moving forward."

One room! (Dzaster, of course, did this years ago.)

I've been drifting back in the other direction. The house is filling up with stuff again — especially clothing. Part of this is because I have had the disposable income with which to do it. Part of it is because of the compliments I've gotten on my appearance, which is, frankly, more presentable than it previously was.

But that's how our consumerist system works. A little money in the pocket, a little need for ego gratification, a little flattery and positive reinforcement from others, and presto! — we start substituting material possessions for spiritual wealth.

In the midst of all this acquisition, there have been some bright spots. Like Cranky Buddhist, I've gotten rid of some old stuff by giving it away. Some of it went out to the curb for bulk waste pickup, but scavengers took it away first. That included an old ceiling fan that was on the floor in a closet when I moved in, a non-functioning CRT monitor, an old bathroom sink. I've given away some old clothes, too, as well as a big pile of computer parts.

But at the same time, I've been buying loads of stuff. There's the backyard landscaping, of course, but that doesn't bother me as much as the huge pile of shirts and shoes I've acquired. It's as if the 1980's mcarp has re-emerged. It's almost obsessive/compulsive. And now I'm stressed out about it, which is another part of the old familiar pattern.

I wonder what would happen if I followed the Dzaster/Cranky Buddhist approach — get everything down to one room. It wouldn't have to actually be in one room — just small enough to fit in one room if it had to.